Sibling Bonds
by PalindromeIsntOne
Summary: An extra set post-Artistic Licence though could potentially be read separate. Marth and Elisse get a chance to know each other better than ever...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello! I've been a bit slow writng (got distracted) so I've made it a two-shot so that i can post something ^_^ Dedicated to MarsMonster, the lucky 100th reviewer of Artistic Licence. Please review!

* * *

**Elisse woke to soft sunshine, and on opening her eyes was instantly disorientated. Whilst she waited for her brain to tell her where she was she looked absently out the window to her right and saw trees and blue sky. Which was a bit odd – normally from that angle all she could see was sky and perhaps a chimneys from the houses opposite. And come to think of it, her window wasn't even to the right of the bed… where was she? Her brain still wasn't catching up. She didn't remember going anywhere…

Yawning she sat up and rubbed her eyes. The whole room was unfamiliar – how had she got here? She was just about to get up and go investigate when Ike came in through the door and placed a tray of cooked breakfast on her lap.

"Awake at last, eh?" He smiled and sat down on the bed beside her.

"Yeah…thanks. But um…what are you doing here?"

Ike laughed. "Well I suppose I could have left without you but I decided to stay here and make you breakfast instead. Do you mind?"

"Um…no…" She cleared her throat. Her voice sounded strange. And she hadn't really understood what Ike had said either.

"Where am I?"

Ike grinned. "Wait 'til you've eaten your breakfast and woken up a bit more. It'll come to you." He leant in and kissed her gently on the cheek before standing up and leaving her to eat.

Alone, Elisse considered her options and in the end settled on eating her breakfast. She wasn't quite sure what was going on – it even occurred to her that she might still be dreaming – but she wasn't about to turn down a good piece of bacon under any circumstances.

However, having finished eating she felt no more enlightened than before. She stood up and wandered around the room a little but then jumped, startled, as she spotted Marth standing beside the door.

"God Marth, I didn't see you there! What the hell is…" Something was wrong. Slowly, she reached a hand towards him. He copied her… and their hands met on cool glass.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"Marth? Are you okay?" Ike rushed in, concerned. Elisse looked back at him and then back at Marth – the pale face, the shocked blue eyes…her face…his face… It was a mirror.

And she…

She was Marth.

"Marth?" Ike shook her gently.

It was impossible.

"You look like you're about to faint – sit down." He guided her gently back to the bed and sat her down.

This was impossible.

"What is it?"

Impossible.

"Marth, speak to me."

She swallowed nervously and pointed at the mirror. Ike looked at it and then back at her.

"You don't look _that_ bad in the mornings," he joked.

"I'm Marth," she whispered.

"Yes you are. Why, had you forgotten?"

She didn't know what to say.

"Your head's in the clouds this morning. Why don't you have a shower and I'll see you in a bit?" Ike suggested gently. She nodded, and he left her to herself once more.

Several minutes passed.

It's not every day that you wake up as your brother, she thought. But she had. And somehow, she had to deal with it. What was it Ike had suggested again? Oh yeah, have a shower and get ready. Right, might as well…

Hang on.

She was a guy.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Of course she had known as soon as she realised she was Marth, but she hadn't really thought about it so much until now, when faced with the thought of a shower. When they were very little their mum used to put them in the same bath together – but this was different. Marth was a man now. She was a man. God, this was weird.

At her scream Ike had reappeared and she turned to look at him helplessly.

"What was that for?" he asked. She took a deep breath.

"I…I just felt like it."

He walked towards her slowly, half-smiling. "You just felt like swearing?"

She shrugged. "The shower…" She waved a hand dismissively. "Uh… it's nothing."

"The shower?" Ike repeated. Then in a slightly more meaningful tone, "Do you want me to give you a hand?"

_Broken shower fittings…_ "No!" Elisse yelped. "I mean… no, thanks."

Ike frowned. "Why are you so tense? Relax." He smiled gently before climbing on the bed behind her and massaging her shoulders.

"Um…Ike?" But what could she say? Sorry, I'm actually Elisse I just seem to be stuck in Marth's body at the moment? Who would believe it?

"Yes?"

"Nothing."

"Just relax," he urged her, continuing to massage. Which felt rather nice actually. Very nice. In fact, scratch that. Marth might just have boyfriended the best massager on the planet.

"Oh _god…_" She arched her back in pleasure as his expert hands worked the tension from her shoulders. But then he moved closer, his torso pushing up against her back as his arms moved to wrap around her midriff. She froze as she felt his tongue gently tease her outer ear. But of course. Ike was Marth's boyfriend. For Ike, nothing could be more natural.

This could be tricky.

She turned around, gently disentangling herself with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry."

"What is it?"

_Quick, think._ "Let me brush my teeth."

Ike smiled. "There's no need to be self-conscious."

Elisse shrugged. She'd got out of it for now, but she needed to make sure that after she'd brushed her teeth she wouldn't end up straight back with the same awkwardness.

"Didn't you say we'd be going out this morning?" she risked.

"Ah – Yes I did, didn't I?"

_Phew._ "You'd better let me get ready then."

"Alright. See you outside when you're done."

Once inside the bathroom Elisse quickly shut and locked the door behind her. She was going to have to act Marth to the best of her ability – she didn't want to mess up Marth's relationship with Ike, but she couldn't let herself get too close to him because that would be plain awkward. Great. She took a deep breath and suddenly something else occurred to her. Something that should have occurred to her much earlier. If she was in Marth's body… what had happened to hers?

* * *

Marth was dragged slowly awake by the sound of a baby crying. It was loud too – how thin were the walls in this hotel? _Aarrrgh…_ He waited impatiently for someone to quieten it, but if anything the crying only got louder. God, how loudly could a single baby cry? It sounded like it was only in the next room or something.

"Ike?" he muttered. "Ike, can you hear that?"

No reply.

"Ike!" he hissed, reaching over the bed to locate him. But his hand met empty air. Where the hell? It was pitch black, he couldn't see a thing. He rolled over the other way until his hand found the bedside lamp. He flicked it on.

"Ike?" The room was empty. It didn't look like he thought it should either, though perhaps that was just the lighting. But no, it wasn't just that – the wardrobe should be…and the door should be…

"Ike? IKE!" Still no reply. Maybe he'd gotten up early to do some painting. He felt weird. It just wasn't right. He should probably just go back to sleep. If only that baby would just stop crying…

If…

"Aaaargh somebody shut it up!" he moaned, covering his ears to no avail. Hadn't the thing screamed itself hoarse already? Evidently not. The screams went on.

"I'm trying to sleep here!"

No response. Not a single other voice apart from the baby's, crying on and on and on…

He got up, unable to ignore the noise any longer. Rolling out of bed he followed the sound out of the bedroom door and across the landing. On the way he tried to ignore how everything felt out of place somehow – the layout of the hotel, the lack of lighting, even himself. Somehow the dark and the crying and the lack of Ike was just a little creepy.

"Hello?" he called softly, approaching the door where the crying seemed loudest. Once more, no one answered him. He opened the door and went inside. The crying here was really almost painful on the ear – the baby was definitely in this room. He flicked on the light switch.

It was a charming little room, pale peach in colour and bordered round the middle with a repetitive pattern of cute cartoon elephants. There were baby toys scattered all over the floor and in the far corner was a nappy changing table stacked high on one end with fresh nappies awaiting use. And finally, near the door, was a simple wooden crib which contained the source of the racket. But Marth was preoccupied. He recognised this room, and it wasn't from the hotel. In fact in other circumstances he would have easily sworn it was the nursery room at Elisse's house. But that was impossible. Yet as he leant over the crib it certainly seemed like the baby bore the familiar face of Aaron.

It was impossible. There was no way he could have ended up in Elisse's house. He'd gone to sleep yesterday in a hotel room – this just had to be a dream.

He closed his eyes and then opened them again. Then again. Then he spun around. He jumped and yelled. But he was still in the nursery and the baby was still crying. If this was a dream it was one that was particularly hard to wake up from.

"Ike?" What was he supposed to do? Well whatever was going on, the baby's wails were driving him up the wall. Perhaps he could get it a bottle of milk or something. He headed for the stairs, feeling ever more confused on finding the place ever more appearing like Elisse's house.

He descended the stairs warily, and as he did so was aware of something else odd – the top part of his chest moving up and down, stair by stair. Not painfully or unpleasantly as such, but certainly enough to be noticeable. At the bottom of the stairs he flicked on the nearest light and looked down at himself to see what was amiss. It seemed like his chest had swollen up at the top – an infection? Worried, he removed his pyjama top to have a look.

"HOLY SHIT!" It was like he had…well, breasts. He prodded one tentatively. It didn't hurt – surely it would hurt if his chest had got somehow inflamed? Perhaps he would get a better idea of the problem if he looked in a mirror. He looked around a little and spotted one near the front door. So, feeling more than a little nervous, he stepped in front of it.

From that point there was a bit of a delayed reaction. At first glance, seeing essentially nothing he expected to see, he was first convinced that the mirror wasn't working. He was just turning away when something made him pause – not something he expected, yet something familiar none the less. He turned back towards the mirror and looked again – properly.

"HOLY SHIT!"

He reached for his top before looking again, even though what he'd seen was surely impossible. Yet the person in the mirror was decidedly Elisse.

"Elisse?"

Elisse replied in unison with her voice, her name, her face. Marth quickly looked away from the mirror, feeling ill. How had that happened? This was mad! It couldn't be happening. You didn't just wake up as your sister one day. It wasn't normal.

He leant against the front door, looking into the kitchen. Waiting. To wake up, for things to make sense, for Ike…for anything. But nothing happened, and each time he looked down at himself it only confirmed his new identity. He was Elisse.

Upstairs, the baby kept crying. Aaron. He couldn't deny it any more. And if he didn't manage to soothe it then it would keep crying. Well, one thing at a time. With a sigh he went into the kitchen, resuming his previous task of looking for milk. Hmmm. Fridge nope, top cupboards nope, side cupboards nope, bottom cupboards…nope…He must have missed it. He began to look again, more thoroughly this time. Had Elisse failed to buy some more? She would keep something as important as milk somewhere obvious, right? Oh, this was hopeless. He would have to call her.

He was halfway through dialling when he realised that he was dialling the number to the house he was currently in. _He _was Elisse now. But then… where was Elisse? And the thought that came shortly after – surely not… But the baby's cries helped him to be decisive, no matter how impossible it all seemed. He picked up the phone and dialled his own mobile number, stomach flipping as he heard it ring. Then a strange voice,

"Hello?"

He almost hung up. That wasn't Elisse's voice. But then he remembered, and feeling somewhat dizzy at the thought he raised the phone back to his ear again.

"Elisse?"

"Marth."

Then in unison: "You're in my body."

"How's the baby?" Elisse asked urgently. Was that his voice? This was going to take some mind-bending.

"Erm…fine." Then he remembered why he called. "No! Not fine! Super bad! He's crying and there's no milk in the house – where do you put it?"

"In the fridge?" She sounded confused.

"Huh, what? No…baby milk."

There was a long silence. The wailing on Marth's other ear increased a few decibels.

"I said _where's the milk_?"

Another long silence.

"WHERE'S THE MILK?"

"Calm down!"

"Answer me!"

"Erm…um-ye-er…"

"WHAT?"

"…I breast-feed him Marth."

It took a few seconds for this to sink in. Marth instinctively protested. "I can't do that!"

"Marth, you have to or he'll go hungry."

"N-no! Where can I buy milk?"

"Just feed him!"

"No way!"

"It's good for his immune system!"

"That's no consolation!"

"Marth, you have my permission."

Marth muttered something inaudible but probably containing swear words. He paced a little where he stood, trying to think about it and not think about it at the same time.

"Marth, you have to. I'm you and you're me."

"For how long?"

"…I don't know." There was another long pause as they both tried not to consider the implications of this and failed. Eventually Elisse continued, "You'll only have to look after him until almost noon. Then Samus will come over to baby sit and you can go out with Martin."

Mixed relief was followed shortly by extreme nervousness. "What? I can't go out with Martin! I'm not… You're not… It's not right!"

"Marth, you are going to go out with him, you hear?"

"Elisse…"

"I'm not letting you turn him down. I planned Samus to come round and everything and it's not like I've seen him very much since we started talking again. The situation is too delicate. You're not causing one speck of dust on our relationship, you hear me? You're going out with him."

Marth hesitated, then again. In the end he simply raised a hand to his face. "Oh god."

On the other end of the line Elisse sighed, then gave a short, "Oh!" as she remembered something else.

"What?" Marth snapped, terrified. Only a silence met his question. That couldn't be a good sign. He took a deep breath. "Elisse, whatever it is, it's probably better if you just tell me."

"Ok." Still silence.

"_Well_?" He clutched the phone tightly, trying to imagine the worst thing she could say, and brace himself for it. But he didn't have a clue what to imagine. And then,

"Marth, are you bleeding?"

"What?" He wasn't sure he heard correctly.

"Bleeding, Marth."

"Bleeding? What?" He looked down at himself, but saw no trace of crimson.

Elisse's tone was thick with mixed emotions, wreaking havoc with Marth's nerves as she spoke. "Marth, I'm on…you're on… Period," she finally managed.

Period. It took him several moments to realise what she meant. He swallowed, shuddered.

"Oh god, Elisse, what?" His croak trailed off into nothing. Surely not. No, no, this was all wrong. It couldn't be, this wasn't him! It was all some weird and terrifying nightmare! As if to confirm this to himself he pulled his pyjama trousers down. Looked.

"Marth, you're on the third day. Hopefully there won't be too much blood, and it shouldn't hurt as much if its still going on, there's paracetamol in the cupboard to th– Marth? Marth?"

On the other side of the line Marth lay unconscious.

* * *

Elisse sighed and hung up before beginning to avidly text instructions. Poor Marth, he really had been thrown in at the deep end. No doubt it had been the sight of blood that had made him faint – at least, she was pretty sure he had fainted, considering the heavy thud she'd heard on the other end. _Hope I don't get bruises,_ she thought, before realising what a weird thought that actually was. So… they'd swapped bodies. Well she supposed it was better than having some random stranger in her body.

"Ah dear." She massaged her temples nervously. And for all that she'd told him, she'd got not one nugget of information in return. It seemed she would just have to act to the best of her ability and hope.

She hadn't had the shower in the end. She'd run it for the noise, and had been brushing her teeth when Marth's mobile rang. Now she put the toothbrush back in its holder and slipped back into the bedroom, leaving the shower running as she searched through Marth's wardrobe for something to wear. Hmmm. Not bad, not bad. Well what do you know; Marth had a good taste in clothes. She laid the ones she wanted to wear out on the bed, then closed her eyes and got dressed. Then with a deep breath she opened her eyes, turned the shower off, left the bedroom and headed out into the unknown.

She entered into a small kitchen, charmingly decorated and leading off on the right side into a small lounge with a sofa in front of a television. Self-catering, how charming. She wondered how often they cooked for themselves. Ike seemed like a good cook, if the lovely breakfast was anything to go by. She pictured Ike and Marth sharing some home-made lasagne on the sofa and smiled. It would be a perfect picture if it was true. Come to think of it, where _was_ Ike? He seemed to have disappeared. Hmmph. Well she wasn't going to hang around here all day waiting for him to come back. She headed for the door.

"Wow."

The stone landing she had stepped onto extended in a large crescent moon shape around the circumference of the hotel. Doors leading to other hotel rooms were evenly spaced along its length and the landing itself looked down over the huge circular lobby that seemed to be the entirety of the ground floor. There was another, similar landing on the next floor down and descending the past both landings from the centre of the domed ceiling was a huge cylindrical chandelier, sparkling brightly not because the light was turned on but from the sheer amount of sunlight that reflected over each stunningly cut surface. She stared at it, feeling under-dressed for the occasion, even though there was no occasion at all.

"Ike?" It was barely a whisper, she was so in awed with her surroundings, but Ike must have seen her for there came a call from the lobby below.

"Marth!"

And looking down she saw him, waving up at her. She wondered if she needed to bring something – she had Marth's wallet in her pocket, but it felt unusual to go anywhere without a handbag. Still, Ike didn't have a bag either, not even for any painting utensils (unless he'd somehow tucked painting gear into his trousers and from what Marth had told her she wouldn't put it past him), and this reassured her somewhat.

She descended the grand staircase feeling ever so slightly regal, and greeted Ike with a slightly wide-eyed smile. He grinned playfully back at her.

"You look just as awed as when you first saw it."

She swallowed. _It _is_ the first time I've seen it._ "Yes, well. This isn't the sort of place you get used to."

"I suppose not." He paused a moment himself, looking around as she had been doing. "It would make an impressive picture to paint the view from the doorway, but to make that possible I'd have to sit in the doorway, blocking everyone's entrance and spoiling _their_ first experience of it."

Elisse shrugged. "You can't be painting all the time, no matter how lovely the view."

He frowned at this. "Why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "You don't seriously paint _every_ time you see a stunning view?"

"I try," he protested.

"You don't find that spoils your experience of it?"

"No, you appreciate it in greater detail then."

Elisse turned with him towards the main doors to head outside. "But what if it was just a moment?"

They were heavy rotating doors, but elegant and majestic with it, and rotated surprisingly smoothly for such a heavy door and they both stepped through into the sunlight.

"What do you mean?"

"Well if it is just a single, special moment, isn't it wrong to take it apart and paint it bit by bit, fracture it into single colours, 2D?"

"Fracture." He said it slowly, as if the word was alien to him. "That's ridiculous. Marth, what's up with you? You never question me about my painting."

_Oh, damn._ "Sorry."

"No, no… Don't apologise. It's just… I've never thought of it like that." He laughed. "How odd."

"I'm sorry."

Now they were outside Elisse could feel the full warmth of the morning sun and she turned towards it like a lizard. Just as the hotel room had slipped into context as soon as she had stepped out onto that magnificent stone landing, so now did the whole hotel slip into context with its surroundings. She was on an island. In fact, it appeared as though the whole island had been given to it – she couldn't see any other buildings nearby bar one, which was just an extended part of the hotel complex, the restaurants and leisure facilities. There was a few hundred yards of grass turning into beach, but after that it was water in all directions – then perhaps a few miles away the shoreline of a proper mainland, with all the usual town attractions.

Lined along the beach were a series of small motorboats with different numbers painted on them, as well as a large landing stage to one side where a much larger cruiser was waiting.

"Drive or be driven?" asked Ike. Elisse figured that meant either one of the motorboats was theirs to drive or they could get on the large cruiser currently waiting at the landing stage. She thought about it for a minute. If they took a motorboat it would just be her and him, on a small boat that could take as long a detour as they wanted. The single thought was enough to persuade her. She headed towards the landing stage. Ike followed, perhaps disappointed, but she didn't look at his face.

The journey passed quietly. For the most part she admired the scenery, wondering why Marth hadn't told her of the amazing hotel, or if he had been anywhere similarly grand before. She was tempted to ask Ike, of course he would know, but if she did it would sound strange. Still, she resolved to ask Marth about it when they next talked. Something as beautiful as this surely wouldn't just slip your mind when writing a letter or making a phone call?

When they arrived they were channelled quickly towards the main harbour to make space for other people to board the cruiser, and as they walked closer to town Ike turned to her.

"So, where do you want to go?"

Elisse looked around her, at the foreign buildings and people, the tourist attraction signs, the roads leading to so many places she had never seen before. Ike nudged her.

"Well?"

Where to start.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to MarsMonster, ADashOfInsanity, motolokiev and WayRoundWrong for reviewing! **

**Having written almost up until the end I have now decided to split it into a _three_ shot because the second chapter would otherwise be twice the length of the first... Anyway, you can be sure of a quicker update next time because I am almost finished! :)**

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Marth took his time seeing to the baby. But having managed to overcome, or at least temporarily deal with his current state of affairs, he now sat on the sofa in the living room, rocking Aaron in his arms and wondering what on earth he ought to do. The time was then only 7am. That was the price for waking up early, he supposed. You stay awake for hours and it's _still _early morning. He needed a coffee.

Back in the kitchen with the kettle boiling, and still in his pyjamas, his thoughts drifted onto Martin. He didn't know anything about the guy, though he assumed he would be nice enough and he would have to pretend to know a history he hadn't experienced, couldn't even remember because it wasn't his to recall.

He made the coffee as strong as he dared then retreated back into the lounge and switched on the television, letting its gentle drone distract him. Yet again he looked over at Aaron, felt oddly paternal even though it wasn't his son. The baby gurgled something, the TV presenter garbled something… Marth closed his eyes, already weary, and fell asleep.

Two hours later he woke, finding himself dangling half on and half off the sofa, a spilt cup of coffee lying on the floor. With a sigh he got up and fetched some tissues to clean up, then after checking to see if Aaron was ok, headed upstairs to Elisse's bedroom to get changed. He might as well wake up properly – it felt like he'd already faced the worst of it, now he just had to get on and live.

He opened the wardrobe with a slight sense of dread, and as he did so his mobile went off as he received another message. He opened it.

_Don't forget to wear a bra. It may seem obvious, but I thought I'd mention it. You probably won't be able to do it up behind you but if you do it up at the front and twist it round before slipping the straps on that should work._

Great. Elisse really did have a sense of timing. He turned from the wardrobe to a set of drawers to one side and pulled the top drawer open nervously. It seemed to contain bras. Well there wasn't much for it…

_Beep_.

Another text. He opened it.

_Not those. Post-pregnancy ones are bottom drawer._

Rather freaky, but never mind. They were siblings, after all, not exactly ignorant of how the other would think. And then another thought – how similar were they, exactly? He went back to the wardrobe which contained a full length mirror inside one of the doors and looked at himself again – just the face. Her forehead was a bit taller, her eyebrows a bit more arched… she had a stronger chin, oddly enough, but smaller ears. The hair was the same colour, but a different texture – hers was thinner, softer. And it would have been longer too, but she had cut it for practicality during pregnancy – it hovered just above her shoulders. And the eyes were the same, though framed differently – she had a more prominent eyelid with slightly longer lashes, and there was a slight darkening under the eyes from lack of sleep. But despite all this if he closed his eyes and pictured his own face, then opened his eyes, for a moment he saw his face before it faded to become hers, similar but different. Then with a quick shake of his head he returned to the job of dressing himself. And quickly came to the conclusion that he had better fashion sense than Elisse.

"Elisse, what…?" She really had no sense of what to wear, what would work for her. Honestly, how could she think to flatter herself by wearing…? An idea occurred to him. Its oddness made him brush it away, but then he forced himself to consider it. He could stay at home alone with Aaron, waiting for Samus to come so that he could go out with Martin… or he could go shopping. He shrugged his shoulders experimentally, considering. He had no idea how long he would be Elisse – if it was just a short time, he would be doing her a favour, if it was in the long term… well he wanted to be well dressed anyway. So, picking out the best of the worst for the time being, he slipped on some boots and prepared to go shopping.

Why did everything seem so familiar? Familiar shops, familiar streets. He'd woken up as Elisse… but in a way it felt like he'd come home. He supposed in a way he had. He was back in his home country now. And the whole world felt just a little bit smaller – was that a normal sensation?

He picked one of his favourite shops and wheeled Aaron carefully inside, reminding himself not to head to the men's section. Today he was shopping for a quite different body type. Right, Elisse was what, size 12/14? Certainly not as slim as before pregnancy anyway. He tried to shake the sense of awkwardness away. He had helped girl-friends with their shopping once or twice before… it wasn't an _alien_ thing, shopping for girls' stuff. Just that this time… No, forget it. The more he thought about it would only distract him. He began to browse through the rails. Hmmm, that green dress was nice…

"Hello. Can I help?"

He turned around. The assistant quickly stalled.

"Oh…um… Elisse."

"Roy." The single syllable caught in his throat. "I didn't realise you worked here."

Roy shrugged awkwardly. "Yes. Well."

Marth wanted to turn away then and there. Elisse would have, he was sure. She was the one that had inadvertently got him fired from the café, after all.

"How are you?" Roy ventured.

"Fine."

"Have you… heard anything from Marth?"

The question briefly threw him. He _was _Marth. But of course… he didn't look like himself right now.

"Um…yes. He's fine."

"Ah." Roy ran a hand through his hair, out of things to say. Marth wondered how he would have behaved if he had been standing there in his own body.

"Are he and Ike…happy?"

"Yes. Very," he snapped curtly.

Roy paused. "Do you think he'll ever forgive me?"

Marth paused at the odd phrasing, knowing he would be answering the question directly, feeling put on the spot. Roy shifted a little, looked down at his feet.

"Never mind. Look… Tell him I'm sorry, ok?"

A lump built in Marth's throat. He wanted to cry, and turned his face away quickly as he felt the pressure build. After a few moments he heard Roy walk away. He took several deep breaths, stared at the rails, checked prices and sizes without taking anything in, anything to keep his mind blank, stop the tears from spilling over. Goddamnit, why did it hurt? He was meant to be _angry_, for Christ's sake! He didn't really believe in Roy's acting, did he? He couldn't seriously think that Roy was genuinely sorry? Marth turned around at last, but couldn't see him. At length he turned back to the rail and resumed shopping.

* * *

"Espresso LOVE, God I'm high right now!" Elisse punched the air as she left the café, then laughed, almost hysterically. "Ain't this place great?"

Ike tilted his head to one side with a quizzical but accepting grin. "You haven't had coffee much, have you?"

_Oh it's more than that, you don't know half._ "Yeah," she lied. Strong coffee had been one of the few things that had managed to keep her going with Aaron and the endless lack of sleep.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Um…" It felt wrong to have so much fun. She thought of Marth, stuck in her house with Aaron, alone and inexperienced. But no, that wasn't fair either. Aaron was a lovely baby. She turned back to Ike.

"Gosh, not sure really."

He grinned. "You're full of energy today."

She gave an arch smile and turned away slightly. "It's like I woke up a completely new person," she said quietly.

In response he came up behind her and wrapped his arms gently around her midriff, lowering his head and smiling softly into her neck. Elisse tensed slightly. But he moved away after only a moment, self-conscious of their being in public. The sun warmed the spot where Ike's cheek had been; Elisse reached for it sub-consciously as she looked around, trying to decide where to go next. Then something caught her eye.

"Oooh. Motorcycle hire." She turned to Ike mischievously. "Fancy it?" It was a small shop set just at the very corner of an alleyway, surrounded by motorbikes of different makes and quality. The sign on the top was peeling. The shop looked neglected, but Elisse's expert eye knew the bikes certainly weren't.

"I can't ride a motorcycle," Ike said apologetically.

Elisse shrugged. "I can," she responded automatically.

"Seriously?"

_Damn! _Elisse suddenly remembered. _Marth can't! But… did Ike know that?_ It seemed too late to make remedy. She shrugged again, hoping to get away with it. "Yeah." Luckily Ike seemed to let it pass, and they headed towards the shop.

Inside she paid for an hour's hire of one of the faster black models, and after examining it appreciatively she pulled on her helmet, put the key into the ignition, and waited for Ike to join her. Ike looked hesitant.

"When did you learn to ride?"

"I was taught by a good friend."

"Do you even have a licence?"

Elisse looked evasive. _I have an artistic licence_, she thought to herself, suppressing the impending grin.

"Sure," she lied. "So?"

Ike took the hint and swung his leg over the bike behind her, taking hold of her waist as she revved the engine, her spine ringing with the thrill as it fired into life.

"Hold on," she muttered, then headed for the main road.

It was a perfect day for a motorbike ride – there was just enough breeze mixed in with the sunshine to stop the heat from being overbearing, and the foreign roads, she was quickly discovering, were just _perfect_. She showed her appreciation for the surroundings by increasing the acceleration.

"Marth, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Ike asked nervously over her shoulder.

Elisse ignored him and let her expression respond naturally, knowing he couldn't see the thrilled glee in her eyes. There was a large bend in the road; having rounded it, a long and gently winding descent followed, skirting around the outskirts of town with beautiful coastal views in the distance.

"Yeeeee-HA!" And with a simple twist of her wrist the bike gave up its discontented roar for a heightened purr, streaking down the road like a wild stallion unleashed.

"Marth!" Ike's voice was partially lost in the wind and engine noise, his tone one of scared excitement. With a wild cry Elisse pushed the bike a little faster – it felt like it was part of her now – and she felt its pulse increase, rejoicing as it flowed over the smooth tarmac.

"Try painting _this_!" she challenged with a reckless laugh.

"Oh _shit…_" Ike's corresponding laugh was not without nervousness. Elisse smiled. The scenery flew past. And so little _traffic…_ This surely was heaven on earth. The bike caressed the bends with a sort of wilful defiance, modestly submitting to the brakes before rearing its beautiful head again on every straight. The wind buffeted at Elisse's t-shirt as she pushed the motorbike as fast as she dared, thrilled to discover after an unexpected turn a beautiful panorama looking down over another part of town, perhaps the main part, perhaps a different town altogether. With her limited knowledge of geography, all Elisse could do was ride. Ride and appreciate. Pale yellow buildings soaked up the lazy afternoon sun and seemed to reflect in return a dim haze of contented heat. She caught a mix of different expressions from the few people on balconies or gardens as she passed by – some disapproving, some jealous, some just happy.

It took some time for Elisse to notice that both Ike and herself had fallen completely silent. With the hubbub of the town nearby and the gleeful growl of the engine, she hadn't noticed. And she wasn't sure Ike had either – they were lost in the moment. A small branch clipped her shoulder as she turned off onto what looked like a less conventional track and was rewarded by the slight disruption of rubber on dust.

"Shall we explore?" she asked rhetorically.

"Ok." Ike loosened his hold, slightly more confident that she had slowed down, and the bike soared onwards.

The town quickly fell away; they were surrounded instead by farming fields bordered by forest. The air was fresh here, unblemished by the smell of exhaust fumes… until now.

"WooooooHOOO!" Elisse shrieked, exhilarated, as they hit a small bump in the road. But the bike was far from bothered, it zoomed onwards easily, and soon she steered the bike even away from the farms and down a wide track leading through the forest itself.

"What if we get lost?" Ike asked. But he didn't sound like he really cared. The trees surrounded them, breaking up the sunlight into sections of gold.

"If we get lost…" Elisse mused, "…you can fetch the firewood."

* * *

At noon exactly Marth was ready. Wearing a dress would have been too much, even considering his shopping spree, but he wore some flatteringly shaped navy jeans and a simple green patterned blouse. Samus had arrived a few minutes earlier and was now playing with Aaron in the lounge whilst Marth paced nervously in the kitchen, not knowing what to expect. How would Martin greet him? A simple 'hi'? A hug? A kiss? The last thought turned his stomach. He had no idea what was about to befall him – he would be jumping straight into the middle of a relationship he hadn't even started.

The doorbell rang.

There was nothing for it. He had to open the door. With a deep breath he left the kitchen, turned into the small hallway, and headed to the door. His hand tightened on the doorknob perhaps more than necessary with nerves, and with a sharp twist he opened the door.

"Hey! How are you?"

The man seized him in a rough hug before he could even get a proper look at him. He smelt of fresh bread and clean cotton and candles. When Marth finally found his feet again he was already flushed, blushing. And then he looked up. _Don't blush any more or you'll look like a boiled lobster._ But he couldn't help himself.

Martin was taller than him by a few inches, ruggedly handsome in a long dark coat which hung open to show underneath a simple low-necked white top and frayed black jeans. His hair hung around his ears in untamed waves with one purple streak on the left side. Bright blue eyes gleamed back at him, he ran one hand over the slight stubble around his chin and shifted awkwardly, smiling – Marth realised he was staring.

"Hello," he said at last.

"You're looking lovely."

"Thank you."

"Shall we go?"

"Sure."

Martin offered his arm like a gentleman and Marth took it. He gave him a funny look.

"This'll be a first – Elisse accepting chivalry?"

Great, first little glitch and he was barely out the door. "Maybe just this once."

"Alright."

Martin led him over to a motorbike parked to one side and passed Marth a helmet.

"We'll go steady for now – I'll open her up later."

Marth stared at it, but realising he had no choice but to play his part, he accepted the helmet and sat on the back of the bike.

"Ready?" Martin positioned himself in front, put on his own helmet.

"Sure." He'd never been on a motorbike before – what the hell was he supposed to hold on to? The back? No, too unstable. Oh god, the engine was already revving. As the bike began to pull away he did the only thing he thought he could do – gently took hold of Martin. Which quickly became a tight hug as the bike accelerated. He could feel Martin laughing.

"Not quite ready, eh? Steady on, gets more fun from here."

It sounded like a terrifying premonition.

They ended up in a quiet café on the edge of town and Marth, having no idea what Elisse would normally order, decided to go for something completely wacky and pretend he was 'being experimental'. Unfortunately this resulted in ordering a colourful looking drink called 'Tropical Wash' which turned out to be largely vodka.

"Nice choice," Martin commented with raised eyebrows as the drink came to the table. Marth smiled, then took a sip. And choked.

"_Shit!_"

"Bit much?" Martin's grin spread. "What on earth did you pick that for?"

Marth shook his head.

"Your ears have gone red. Perhaps we should swap." He passed Marth his coffee and took his Tropical Wash, enjoying a few large gulps before continuing.

"Was fun sky-diving the other day, wasn't it?" he asked. Marth blinked, waiting for the grin that would tell him Martin was kidding. It never came. Marth had to physically restrain his eyes from widening at the thought.

_WHAT?_ What had been Elisse's words? – _It was the most clichéd boy-meets-girl rubbish right from the start…_ Classic? Clichéd? Sky-diving? Marth just nodded.

"You don't half have some lungs – I think the farmers heard you screaming long before you reached the field."

Marth attempted a fake laugh but Elisse's lungs and voice box wouldn't comply – nothing could have been more obviously fake.

"The memory still scare you?"

"Uh…a little." _Recovered, thank you Martin._

One corner of Martin's mouth curled up in a half-smile and Marth felt his heart rate rocket. _No, this isn't right…_ He focussed on his breathing, telling himself to calm down. He was just nervous at going out with his sister's boyfriend, that was all. Of course. He took another gulp of his coffee to help him concentrate and wash the taste of alcohol away. Martin sighed.

"So, did you get that book you were after?"

"Um… No, not in the end."

"Are you ever going to tell me what it was?"

_Funny, I was hoping _you _would tell _me. "Probably not."

He frowned. "Why not?"

_What book would Elisse be keeping from Martin?_ He didn't have a clue… Martin was still waiting for an answer.

"It's just…a girly book," he said in the end, crossing his fingers under the table.

Martin raised an eyebrow. Then his face became more serious, and he asked more quietly, "Is it something about babies?"

Marth shrugged automatically, then inwardly scolded himself. But he didn't realise that from Martin's point of view his awkward, shy expression coupled with the shrug looked more like a gentle 'don't ask' prompt than a signal he didn't know.

"I, er… sorry, never mind," Martin muttered. Evidently the baby was still a source of tension between them. It was, after all, the reason they'd split in the first place. Marth drank some more coffee thoughtfully.

"Do you want to eat here or go to a proper restaurant or grab a takeaway or something?" Martin asked.

"Um…We can eat here."

"Sure? I don't think they do nachos…"

"Oh… well there's a Mexican restaurant down the road I think…" Marth tried, but Martin's slightly frowning smile told him he'd missed an in-joke.

"Nah, no need to fuss." He reached over for the menu, which was inconveniently on the exact opposite end of the table to where he was sitting. Marth, too lost in other thoughts, didn't think to pass it to him. As Martin leant across his hair fell down around his face; and the side with the purple streak came close to Marth. Almost automatically Marth reached out and took the streak into his hand, running his fingers lightly over it. Martin, having retrieved the menu, sat back, and sensing the tug on his hair turned towards Marth slowly. Then with a soft smile he closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against Marth's hand. Marth froze.

"You always loved that streak," he mumbled.

"Yes." Marth swallowed. Why had he done that? Elisse had obviously liked the streak; maybe they had the same natural tendencies. He shrugged the thought off, let go, and took up a menu.

* * *

The bike skidded neatly to a halt and Elisse dismounted, Ike a little more shakily. Somehow they had gone the whole way through the forest and had reached some other section of beach. Elisse was never one for a sense of direction – it might have been the same beach they had arrived at but just several miles further up, or it could have been a different coast altogether. Elisse sighed, removed her helmet, and shook her hair out. Then she turned back to Ike.

"You alright?"

"Yeah. That was… wow." Ike grinned. "You never told me you could ride a motorbike."

Elisse shrugged, gave the classic answer. "You never asked." Again she looked around and the question occurred to her – why did Marth never tell her about this place? Why did he never describe in his communications just how stunning this all was? She looked out across the sea, thinking to herself. Ike came up behind her and put an arm around her waist.

"Quite a change from your old life, isn't it?"

And then it hit her like a heavy stone being dropped into a rock pool. That was precisely it. Oh god, that was so…_obvious. _So…sad. How could…? Marth hadn't told her out of _pity_. Here he was, on something like a perfect holiday in the middle of a perfect romance, whilst she, a single mother, struggled at home with only a few hours of sleep each night and a demanding baby. But that was unfair. He'd just judged her, didn't want to make her sad, or feel like she was missing out. In that moment she both loved and hated her brother.

"Marth?" Ike nudged her gently.

She shook her head. "Yeah. It is."

A little way ahead was a small landing stage leading off the beach. It was partly submerged and a little the worse for wear, but the majority of it remained intact. It was very small, it might have serviced a single rowboat – why it was there was a mystery. Elisse walked along it, stared into the distance. A few hours later there would be a sunset – she knew instinctively that it would be beautiful. She turned to Ike.

"Like I said… about that firewood?"

"We're not lost and there's still daylight."

"So?"

You could see his thoughts turning – _fetch it yourself_, accompanied by a cheeky grin. But that wasn't something he would say to Marth. Marth was too sensitive. Elisse sighed inwardly at the thought. Instead Ike said,

"Alright. I don't know bush craft or anything though, so I probably won't be able to start a fire."

_Well aren't you sweet._ Elisse smiled and sat down.

Half an hour later they sat in front of a pile of sticks, staring at them and willing them to light. Neither of them had a clue how to start a fire, and their various attempts had all failed. Elisse laughed as Ike prodded the pile with an expression of childish hope, evidently both frustrated and perhaps slightly bored and suffering from paint withdrawal symptoms, if such a thing existed. With a sigh she lay back and closed her eyes, content. It had been, despite everything, a rather enjoyable day. She heard a rustle as Ike lay down beside her and tensed for a moment, worrying about how she would deal with any physical contact, but there was nothing. Opening her eyes a crack she looked across at Ike.

"I feel tired. I didn't even check out all the shops I wanted to."

"You didn't even buy anything from the ones we _did_ visit," Ike added.

_I'm not sure of Marth's taste in stuff_, she excused mentally. Outwardly she shrugged.

"I couldn't decide." Her eyelids felt heavy, like she was ready to drift off to sleep. Automatically she resisted the sensation as she would back at home, thinking of Aaron and one hundred and one household chores that needed doing… but actually, she realised, she _could_ sleep. Here, in the quiet, lying in the warm breeze with nothing to do and nowhere to be. It was okay. And so she closed her eyes and let herself drift off.

When she woke the light was much dimmer – she'd forgotten where she was and it took a few moments to get her bearings.

"Ike?" Her voice hadn't quiet kicked into life yet; it was more of a croak. Slowly, she sat up and her eyes widened at the scene – the sun was now one glorious stretch mark of golds and purples, glowing softly in the sky like some cosmic candlelight. She stretched and rubbed her eyes. Ike was standing a little way to one side, kicking up sand absently.

"Ike?"

This time he turned around. "Ah. You're awake." With a smile he walked over to her and began to help her to her feet. When she was half upright he suddenly released his hold, letting her give a sharp squeal before catching her a split second later, lifting her up the whole way this time. Elisse narrowed her eyes at him playfully. That was the sort of thing _Martin_ would do. Cheeky but kind, the sort to give you unexpectedly intense looks when you least expected it. Then she frowned. _Oh god, they had the same taste in men._ She rolled her eyes.

"Please no." _I did not just think that. _She slapped herself gently on the forehead.

"Marth?"

"Er…nothing." She wandered towards the water's edge. _Well Marth was gay after all; it wasn't like orientation was an issue. Why _shouldn't_ they have the same taste in men?_ Slipping her shoes off she wiggled her toes in the water, enjoying the sensation.

"Miss your painting yet?" she asked Ike.

"Oh, yes. I don't think I've ever gone so long without holding a paintbrush."

"I bet you haven't. I bet you painted even as a little toddler."

"Finger painting," Ike acknowledged.

Elisse smiled. "I daresay you were so talented you didn't even try to eat any paint whilst you were doing it."

Ike laughed. "I don't know about _eating_ any, but I know I got it everywhere – my mum would always scold me for it. She helped out in the classroom when I was little – apparently I got it on the other kids too."

"_Red_ paint?" Elisse asked teasingly before she could help herself – before she remembered she was in the body of the person she was mocking. Ike grinned.

"Maybe." He moved closer and kissed her on the shoulder.

_Shouldn't have said that. Oops oops oops Elisse you idiot._ She moved away as gently as she could, walking down the landing stage until she was as far out as she could go and taking a deep breath of fresh air. _Beautiful. Just beautiful._ And then the same thought reoccurred to her, but with a different tone to it – how long would she be staying here? And then she realised she wanted to stay, and what that meant… No, that wasn't right. The sooner she was out of here the better. She could return here in her normal body someday…perhaps.

"Quite a scene, huh? Look at the lines – the clouds just there to the right, that wispy fluffiness – incredibly hard effect to paint." Ike had come up behind her and was pointing into the sky to show her which patch of cloud he meant.

"Yes. Trust you to see it from an artistic perspective." She smiled.

"Well of course. But honestly, looking at that – how can you _not_ see it artistically?"

"It's too perfect, too monumental, how _can_ you see it artistically?"

"_Marth._"

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just… well. Normally you say I can paint anything. Not to boast, of course."

"Of course. Well…" Elisse faltered a little. "I suppose you can paint anything."

Ike laughed at her subdued tone. "Oh no – do feel free to contradict me. But how do _you_ see this sunset then, if not artistically?"

She sighed. "Just… oh I don't know. But I don't like to look at that and think of it as a painting or a picture, or even a scene."

Ike frowned at her. She took hold of his head and twisted out towards the horizon.

"_Look_. Just look."

Ike took a deep breath, seemed to cooperate. Elisse smiled.

"And just for a moment – feel it? – you're at the centre of the world."

For a long moment they both just stared out into the distance, enjoying the scene. Then in unison they turned to face each other. Elisse's heart jolted.

_Oh god. It's a kiss moment._

She couldn't. She was in her brother's body, it wasn't her Ike wanted to kiss. But then why did she feel this way – as if suddenly the world was shrinking around them, nothing more than a colourful backdrop. Why had her eyes locked onto his – she couldn't allow this, but how could she refuse without being suspected?

Ike leant towards her.

Did she have a choice?

He raised a hand and cupped her cheek.

She was just going to have to kiss him.

* * *

**Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Ok, four-shot (this was always going to happen to me). ^_^ But the fourth chapter is uploading now, yes, now. I am uploading this and then it's going to be uploaded, so no waiting :)**

**Thank you to ADashOfInsanity, MarsMonster, applejack00 and motolokiev for reviewing the last chapter!**

**

* * *

**His mouth closed over hers as he leant closer. He was soft in her hands, they melded together easily. One of Ike's hands slid under her top and she felt her blood rush to meet it. Giddy, she swayed against him as the world blurred. He responded easily, pulling her closer and threading his hands through her hair, his chest expanding against her with each snatched breath. Her hands slid down over something soft as she inadvertently relaxed – only then did she realise she had been clutching his hair. With a small gasp she pulled away, and unable to meet his eye turned to face the other way. Her sleeve shifted down her arm and she flinched, hyper-sensitive. She took a deep breath and looked down at herself.

_This is wrong on so many levels._

"Marth?"

She waved off his question, took another pace away. There was a long pause. Eventually Ike said,

"I know what you mean now."

The sounds became words, the words slowly became meaningful. She blinked.

"Huh?"

"Some moments…you can't paint."

Elisse just swallowed and nodded.

* * *

After lunch Martin took Marth for a motorbike ride. He offered to let Marth drive, but Marth, after recovering from the surprise of learning that Elisse _could_ ride a motorcycle, quickly declined. But even knowing he wouldn't be driving, he felt no less nervous as he put on his helmet and got on the bike behind Martin.

"Ready?"

"Yes," he lied.

When the key turned into the ignition it sounded like the bike was being ripped in half. Martin revved the engine and the bike began to move.

They turned out of town and headed for more major roads. Marth worried – where was Martin taking him? But it turned out Martin wasn't taking him anywhere. The major roads _were_ the destination.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

The acceleration turned to a contented moan as the bike went up gear after gear, and the force of it made Marth terrified he would fall off the back of the bike, surely to his death.

"Having fun?"

"I'M GOING TO DIE!"

Martin only laughed. Marth chewed his lip nervously.

"Speed or style?" Martin asked. Marth didn't answer. He feared either. But as signs to motorways began to appear his rising panic spoke for him.

"Style."

"Ok!"

The bike pulled away, began to head back towards familiar streets. Marth breathed a sigh of relief. Martin steered them towards the other side of town, and as the views around them became more scenic he began to relax. The houses fell away to trees and then villages and finally country lanes.

"Hey. Wow."

"Pretty scenery, huh?"

"Yeah." Marth smiled. The bike picked up speed as they approached a small bridge.

"Hold on."

"What? Wh– SHIIIITTTTT!"

The bike took off as it reached the top of the bridge, launching them both into the air for a long second until the bike hit the ground again, suspension straining. Martin allowed Marth only a few seconds recovery before the acceleration was applied again, and as the fat tyres dug into a deep bend it slowly dawned on Marth that this was what he had chosen by saying 'style.'

"Wheelie?"

"NO!" Marth screamed, his grip, if possible, tightening still further around Martin's waist as the bike leant backwards in a terrifying feat of balance. Marth didn't even know _where_ his stomach was anymore.

"Ye-ha!" Martin accelerated into another corner and for one terrifying moment the tyres seemed to skid helplessly, but then with renewed force they gripped the tarmac and once more they were flying down the road, hair whipping around their faces. Marth closed his eyes to shut it out, but found that the tension of not knowing where he was going was even worse than the anticipation of various obstacles when he had his eyes open.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

"You alright?"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He could feel Martin laughing as the bike turned a corner whilst pulling off another wheelie.

_Please, let there be a tractor. Dear god, please send a tractor._

"AAAHHHHHHH!"

It was to no avail. The road was completely without traffic.

"Lean forward," Martin ordered.

"What?"

With a perfect application of brakes Martin threw the bike into a forward wheelie then rolled back into a backwards one before slamming the bike down just in time to leap another bridge. Marth was too terrified to even breathe. The screaming kicked in with a delayed reaction, not that he was even aware of his screaming over the roar of the engine and the wind passing his ears.

"Nice scenery huh?" Martin joked.

Marth was too distracted re-digesting his lunch.

"Best way to appreciate it, I think."

Marth moaned. _Why can't you just paint it like Ike? _That's _a perfectly good way to appreciate it._

"Almost there."

_Thank god for that. Hang on, where were they going anyway?_ "I thought we were just going for a drive," he said at last.

"We were. But…well… Would you like to come round to my place?"

_Is there gravity there?_ He bit back the words, and the rising bile. "Um, sure."

As if he had spoken the magic words Martin slowed down and the bike's noisy engine quietened to a soft purr.

"Better?"

"Much."

There was a short pause. "Why are you so scared of bike riding all of a sudden?"

Marth shrugged nervously, before remembering Martin couldn't see him. "I'm…not." Well, he supposed that Elisse wasn't, then. Since when had Elisse taken up motorcycling? He disapproved. It wasn't safe, and this particular ride certainly hadn't convinced him, though Martin's proficiency as a driver couldn't be faulted. It was still terrifying.

"Are we there yet?" he asked before he could help himself.

"Just around this corner."

But when the bike turned Marth couldn't see any houses at all, and was puzzled until Martin slowed right down and turned up into a narrow driveway almost invisible from the road. Hedged on either side, it stretched for a few hundred yards before the hedges fell away and Marth was faced with a large country house, grand but homely at the same time.

"Wow," he said automatically.

Martin stopped the bike and dismounted before turning with a smile. "Can never quite used to it, can you?"

"Can _you_?"

Martin thought a moment. "I suppose not. It changes throughout the year. Sometimes when I've gone on holiday I've come back and it looks completely different, just because of the quality of light or something. Then I blink, and it's normal again."

"Like a living creature."

"Precisely." He gestured towards the front door. "Shall we?"

Inside the main theme seemed to be wood, including everything from the stair banister to the shoe holder to the floorboards. The ambience of the place was so natural and warm Marth simply stood in the hallway admiring it for a moment. Martin, enjoying his peculiarly distracted behaviour, removed his coat for him and hung it up on a nearby peg. Then he removed his own coat and led Marth into the kitchen. Here the theme of wood continued – the surfaces and cabinets, the breakfast bar and stools, and even the knife block, the breadbin and the unusually curved clock on the wall were made of wood.

"It's like…" Marth struggled for a moment. "Like the house of some artistic lumberjack."

Martin grinned. "Well I'm neither unfortunately, I just like the effect. I had a tree house when I was younger and it was my favourite place in the world. So I guess that's what I tried to create here, just…" he trailed off.

"Scaled up?" Marth suggested.

"Yeah, something like that." He shrugged. "Anything you fancy doing? Apart from the obvious." He winked.

Marth was briefly thrown by the flirting, but replied as best he could, "Nothing in particular at the moment."

"Can I get you a drink then? I have milk and water."

"Amazing domestic supplies."

"I know."

"No teabags to go with that?"

"None. Or coffee. I'm terrible."

"Squash? I'll take anything up to 50% sugar," he joked.

"No squash either I'm afraid. Sugar wise there is no 50%. It's either water…or a bag of sugar." He paused. "Unless you want to have some sort of dissolved sugar combo."

"I'll take water," Marth decided.

"Tap's there." He pointed. "Glasses there." He pointed.

"Right."

Martin rolled his eyes. "I'm teasin'. I'm not _that_ bad a host. Gimme a sec." He filled a glass of water and passed it to him. "So… fancy making some bread?"

Marth raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason?"

"I have the ingredients. I can. I feel like it." He shrugged.

Marth smiled. "Why not?"

It was simple enough, as it turned out. They both kneaded the dough side by side, a calming activity that lulled Marth into its simple rhythm so easily he almost forgot what he was doing. Martin nudged him.

"Don't forget to fold in from the sides. And add in any seeds or dried fruit you want – plenty of pots of the stuff are in the cupboard above you." They were having a loaf each, to do how they liked. Marth added some pumpkin seeds after a moments' thought, then continued kneading. Martin shook his head.

"You weakling. Dig the base of your hands in a bit more. Like this." He moved around behind Marth and took his hands in his own, moving them over the bread. His hands were firm and gentle; Marth forgot for a moment what he was doing. So far Martin had never stood so close to him and being able to feel his body heat was disconcerting. Being on the bike had been different – he'd been too distracted fearing for his life.

"There. You get it?" Martin stepped back and returned to his own ball of dough.

Marth put his brain back into gear. "Yeah, thanks."

Once the bread was in the oven they passed the time in the lounge, watching The Shawshank Redemption. A bit of tiredness crept in, but Marth refused to let himself fall asleep against Martin. As it was Martin had his arm around him and Marth was resting on his chest, but to fall asleep would just be a step too far. The arm and position had been Martin's choice, to fall asleep was his. He hadn't asked permission from Elisse to sleep on her boyfriend, and he couldn't see her approving.

The smell of bread wafted in from the kitchen as the film wore on. The motorcycle ride had made him tense; now that he could relax again the urge to sleep was becoming increasingly harder to fight. He could have a little nap, couldn't he? Nothing serious, just to close his eyes for a moment, recover some energy. No, that would be…fine… The last thing that occurred to him as he drifted off was the sensation of Martin's fingertips gently stroking his hair.

"Elisse. Hey. Bread's ready."

Marth's eyes rolled under their eyelids as he slowly came back to himself. "Mmmphhurh?"

"Bread's ready. Wake up."

Marth swallowed and coughed a little, trying to work out where he was. For a moment he thought he was back in the hotel with Ike, and then the reality caught up with him. He was lying on Martin's lap. At some point he must have slid down and fallen well and truly asleep. Blushing, he sat up and allowed Martin to get up and go to the kitchen, where some annoyingly beeping timer was announcing that the bread had finished cooking.

"Come on and see," Martin called.

Marth rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, still embarrassed, and got up to join Martin in the kitchen, where the two loaves now sat proudly on the nearest worktop.

"They smell lovely."

"Don't they just." Martin took a knife and cute a few slices from each and put them on wooden plates before handing one to Marth, who smiled at the sight of the plate.

"Is everything here wooden?"

Martin rolled his eyes. "I do my best."

"This really is becoming akin to being inside a tree."

"Well…" He seemed to debate for a moment, then continued, "If you like we can eat in the tree house… for the full woody experience."

"You have a tree house _as well_?" The question escaped him before he could worry if Elisse had seen it before. Luckily, it seemed that she hadn't.

"Couldn't resist." Martin's eyes sparkled. "What do you think?"

"Ok."

The garden mingled in floral and fresh foliage smells amongst the fresh bread he was carrying, a rather pleasant combination. Marth had taken his shoes off before – now he walked through the grass after Martin barefoot, winding past a few apple trees until they approached the end of the garden. There a particularly large tree had given space amongst its lower branches to a tree house that looked like a relatively new addition, and a single rope ladder hung down from the entrance, inviting. Martin turned to him.

"Pass your plate. I'll take them up and then you can have both hands to climb."

Marth passed his plate and Martin, with amazing agility, shimmied up the rope ladder with only one hand to aid himself, balancing the two plates waiter-style on the other arm. Marth reached the top a little while after and shuffled inside.

The ceiling was too low to stand up but high enough to sit comfortably and there were two conveniently placed cushions for this purpose. Marth sat down and Martin passed him his plate. Besides the door there was also a small window and the late evening light seeped in bringing the last of the warmth to chase away the cold of the night air that would follow.

"Quite a nice spot you have here." Marth smiled. "Like an observation tower to spy on the neighbours."

"As if I would." Martin took a bite of his bread and leant back against the wall. The floor space was perhaps two metres square – if Marth, leaning against the adjacent wall, had stretched his legs out they could have probably crossed ankles. It occurred to him that agreeing to be in such a cosy space with Martin had probably not been his wisest decision today. But why was he jumping to those conclusions? Martin hadn't given any sign of taking advantage of the situation, and Marth so far only had his own mind to blame for conjuring up a dodgy end. Perhaps he was just bracing himself for the worst.

"You seem happier now," Martin commented. "You weren't quite yourself earlier."

Marth took another bite of his bread and hoped he wouldn't have to answer.

"I'm sorry," Martin said at last. "I'm glad, that's all." He smiled mischievously. "I hope I didn't scare you too much with the motorcycle ride."

"Oh…no." He shrugged. "And… sorry if I wasn't myself." _Believe me, not my choice._ "Just, you know…" _Excuse, think…_ "Tired. The baby and all that."

"Yeah, of course." Martin looked out through the small window. "Looks like we're going to have a sunset."

Marth followed his gaze. "Probably. Do you ever sleep up here?"

"Camp out in the tree house? Wow, that would be a blast from the past, rather. No, not in this tree house, never. Though I have considered it. I have some sections of foam in the garage that fit into the doorway and window. Snug fits. Would hold themselves in, if there wasn't too much wind." He shrugged. "What about you?"

"We never had a tree house. I went camping once with some friends and their dads… it was ok. My tent was really flimsy and the walls were flapping in all night. I think we were the only things keeping it upright. You wouldn't have that problem up here."

"Nope." Martin patted the floor beside him. "Solid, this. Built it myself. Well… I handed my dad the nails, anyway."

Marth gave a small laugh. "Lazy."

Martin smiled back at him. And even though he had been the one to say that Marth hadn't been… Elisse, it was actually Martin that didn't look like himself right then. Not that Marth could judge, having only known him a day, but Martin had been upbeat earlier and now there was something sad about his smile that didn't quite fit. Maybe he was just tired. If he was sad, Marth didn't know how he would deal with it.

Moving from his seat he crawled over to the window to get a better view of the sunset – it was almost perfect this evening, to Marth's mind, a stunning smudged red-gold all over the sky like one of Ike's recent abstract paintings. Martin shifted over to join him.

"I love nature. Wood, of course, in particular."

"Really? You did a pretty good job of polluting nature earlier," Marth muttered, still unable to forget the bike ride.

"Ah, the motorbike. A weakness, can't resist the thrill."

"It can't be good for your health."

"Don't worry about my health. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, yeah… Just those stunts…"

"I can drive well enough."

"I know, sorry."

"Elisse…"

The window they were both peering through was barely two face widths' apart, and when Marth turned to look at him their noses were practically brushing.

_Oh god. It's a kiss moment._

He couldn't. It was the thing he'd been dying to avoid and had now manoeuvred straight into. How could he have allowed this? Martin had no idea… and there was no way Marth could tell him.

Martin shifted a little closer.

What was he supposed to do?

A warm hand slipped around the back of his neck.

He was just going to have to kiss him.

Martin moved slowly, gently leaning in as he pressed his lips to Marth's. Finding Marth not unwilling he quickly strengthened the kiss, pulling Marth closer towards him. Marth shifted, intending to pull away a little, but only managed to back himself against the wall. Martin moved against him and they melded together easily, his gentle lips almost lulling Marth into a sort of trance. His eyes closed as he relaxed, his skin flushing with each touch. Martin lowered his head, softly kissing his collarbone, and Marth, finally catching his breath, realised he had been holding onto Martin's hair. When Martin finally paused, Marth moved instantly for the exit, his head spinning. He had to get out, he had to… oh god…

_This was wrong on so many levels._

* * *

"Marth?" Ike's voice came again, confused, concerned. Elisse turned around.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

He didn't look convinced. Elisse wasn't convinced either. _I've just kissed my brother's boyfriend in his body._ The thought circulated around in her head. And what's more…but she couldn't think it.

"Hey." Ike nudged her arm gently.

She bit her lip, then hugged him in an attempt to show him everything was normal. "I'm…fine."

"What's wrong?"

_How can I possibly explain? _"Nothing. Just the sunset and everything – it's so beautiful," she improvised weakly, letting him go.

"Beautiful," Ike agreed, but he was looking at her.

"We should um… try and get back, or we'll be navigating in dark. It's getting dark already, I don't know how long that sunset's going to last. I don't want to get lost, there don't seem to be many road signs here and I'm not sure I can remember all the turnings –"

"Marth –"

"So we should really get going –"

"_Marth._"

Elisse took a deep breath, feeling lungs that weren't hers inflating, feeling a heart that wasn't hers thudding deep inside her chest.

"Yes?"

"It's ok." He leant forwards, took one of her hands in both of his own. She looked down, feeling a lump build in her throat. He hadn't got a clue, but yet here he was, generously allowing for her odd behaviour. There was a long silence. After a moment Ike walked away and picked up Elisse's helmet, then walked back to her. Without speaking, he handed it over.

"Come on. Let's get back to the hotel."

Having arrived back after some difficulty they slumped onto the sofa and turned on the television. Ike ordered up some pizza and then gently ruffled Elisse's hair.

"Thanks for driving normally on the way back."

She smiled. "No problem." Then she paused. "What pizza did you order?"

"Ham and pineapple. Your favourite."

"Right." Except it wasn't her favourite. Pepperoni was her favourite. _How long was she going to be stuck like this?_ A mist of despair seemed to settle on her. She missed Aaron – what if, what if…she never saw him again? Her baby… For a moment she feared she would cry and spill all, and she struggled inwardly, biting her lip in order to keep her composure. _All over some stupid pizza._

"Marth?"

She smiled at him. "Thanks." Then she took up a pizza slice and began to eat. Ike put his arm around her and she leant against him, taking comfort from the contact. At least she wasn't alone. A deep weariness sat in her gut – she didn't think she could face the idea of waking up tomorrow and being Marth, having to act and carry out a life that wasn't hers… no matter how nice. Ike ran his hand through her hair, and the touch soothed her a little. She closed her eyes. _Enough now._

* * *

"Elisse!"

Marth was trying not to run away and failing by degrees.

"Elisse!"

He reached the house in moments, only to realise what a fool he was being – it was a dead end, the only way home was by Martin. Home…

"Elisse, please. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Martin caught up with him, took him gently by the shoulders.

"No, no… I-It's not you…" He felt shaky all through and was slightly paranoid that Martin could somehow see it. _I've just kissed my sister's boyfriend in her body,_ he thought, and the thought haunted him.

"It's not you, it's me? Please tell me you're not going to give me that rubbish." Martin's face was serious as he looked into Marth's eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. _I'm _sorry." _This isn't me._

"Elisse…" Martin's voice was quiet. He lifted a hand and gently brushed Marth's cheek with the back of his fingertips. Marth felt too sad to resist, and leant against his chest. He missed Ike. He couldn't believe that he'd just let himself kiss Martin. And what's more… but he couldn't think it. Martin took his hand and gently led him inside. In the kitchen the stood silently looking at the remainder of the bread, not knowing what to say.

"Tea?" Martin offered at last.

"Yeah, sure." He took a seat and wrung his hands nervously in his lap. In a way he was glad Martin was there, that he wasn't alone. He finished his tea slowly, then raised his eyes to Martin's.

"Do you mind taking me home now? I think I'd better take Aaron off Samus." He had to get out of here before he messed anything else up.

"Right."

"I'm sorry."

Martin gave a small smile. "It's ok." He walked over to Marth and took both his hands in his own. A rush of gratitude filled Marth. Martin had no idea, but here he was, accepting, kind nonetheless. Unquestioning, despite Marth's behaviour.

"Thank you. It's been a good day."

"My pleasure." Martin leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. Marth closed his eyes.

"Come on. I'll take you home."

Home was cold and noisy. He reluctantly parted with Martin at the doorway and then took baby Aaron from Samus. It seemed Samus was after a chat or at least some gossip about his date with Martin, but Marth didn't feel like talking. After a few minutes, starved of conversation, she left.

Alone, Marth took Aaron into the lounge, thinking to himself. It hadn't been such a bad day, but he worried how long he would stay here. He rocked Aaron gently in his arms. Aaron was quiet too, perhaps sensing the mood. Marth sang to him softly, then laid him down in his crib to sleep. He felt tired himself; it had been a long day. He headed upstairs to Elisse's bedroom and lay down on the bed, trying not to notice the absence of Ike. The room was still and quiet. He closed his eyes. _Enough now._


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here we go, reached the end at last... **

**Fact: Sibling Bonds is just under half the length of Artistic Licence (it was only meant to be an extra!). How does that work?**

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters (except Martin and Aaron).**

**Enjoy :) Please review!**

**

* * *

**Elisse tossed in her sleep, unwilling to wake. She couldn't remember why she should be feeling reluctant, and waited for her memories to catch up. Wisp by wisp they came, like dreams. She recalled how she must have fallen asleep on the sofa, the gentle sensation of being carried to a bed. And something else, like a niggling irritation, something she'd forgotten. She rolled over, snuggled into her pillow. Who had carried her? Nice gesture, that. That's it, Ike. Kind guy. Wait. Ike. She had been…Marth…

Oh god.

She didn't want to wake up, she didn't want to know…

Somewhere in the distance, a wail. She wailed in sympathy. She couldn't bear to know, to think…

The wailing increased, dragging her into wakefulness. _No, please…_ The wailing grew louder. Painful, familiar.

"Urrghhhff…Aaron…" she croaked automatically. Then – "AARON? AARON!"

She, yes, _she_, leapt out of bed and threw off the covers, running to the nursery with a hysterical laugh.

"Aaron? Aaron?" And there in the crib, big watery eyes that stared back at her, quieter now. Surprised, perhaps, at the ridiculous grin on his mother's face.

"Oh god I'm a _woman._" She looked down at her chest and felt her smile grow broader. With one hand she gently cupped a breast to make sure.

"Oh yes, mummy is _back_." She lifted Aaron out of his crib and kissed him on the nose.

"Did you miss me? I missed me. Hell, look at these _curves_, baby!" She ran with him downstairs and turned to the mirror by the front door.

"It's me! IT'S ME!"

The baby started crying again. Elisse took a deep breath, forced herself to calm down.

"Right, yeah, sorry. Sssh darling. I'm back now; everything's going to be okay."

A few minutes later, with the baby fed and changed she returned to the mirror. Yes, it was still her. Thank goodness. Her hair, her cheeks, her eyelashes. She looked out the window, wanting to share her elation with somebody. It was pouring with rain. The raindrops running down the window reminded her of what she had lost – the sunny overseas sunshine, the breakfast in bed. But that didn't matter. She had her baby back.

Upstairs she sat on her bed, smiling. She would have to phone Marth, find out what had happened yesterday, but before that she wanted to get changed, be back in her own clothes again. She opened her wardrobe.

"Eh?"

She closed the wardrobe and rubbed her eyes. She _had_ woken up in the right bedroom, hadn't she? Looking around she saw her bed, the familiar walls and lightshade. _Ok…_ She opened the wardrobe again. Inside there seemed to be a small explosion of colour. It all looked new, very new… there were some labels still on some of the items. Slowly, she worked it out. Marth. He'd gone shopping for her. She shook her head and she searched through the new clothes.

"Hmmm." They were…alright, actually. She took out a green dress and held it up against herself. God, she couldn't remember the last time she'd worn a dress. But she wanted to try it. She wanted to wear something that shouted _femininity. _So with nervous excitement she pulled on the dress on and looked in the mirror.

It was a simple design with a plunging neckline and an asymmetrical hemline. In the base of the wardrobe she found some white heeled sandals and pulled them on to complete the effect.

"Wow." She gave herself a twirl, and tried to think of an excuse to keep it on. But she didn't have anywhere special to go that day, and it was hardly practical. She sighed. Moments later, the doorbell rang. Sighing, she gave the mirror one last appreciative glance then began to make her way slowly down the stairs, the high heels hindering her progress. The doorbell rang again.

"Alright I'm coming!"

The doorbell rang again. Elisse eased her way down the final few step as the bell rang for the fourth time.

"Stop ringing you bas– Oh, Martin."

He stood outside with a small bunch of flowers grasped in one hand, a smile lifting his lips.

"Hey. Wow, you lo– mmpf!"

Elisse pulled him inside and pushed him against the wall, deepening the kiss as she did so to drown out anything else he might have to say. With one hand she searched passionately beneath his coat, finding its way between the buttons in his shirt and stroking the smooth skin underneath. His hands ran over her dress, exploring the new fabric.

"Elisse…"

She kissed him again, this time dragging him further inside and closing the front door behind them. She needed to phone Marth, find out what had happened yesterday. But right now she needed to be with Martin; to make up for the day she hadn't had, to relish in this life she didn't realise she had loved so much.

"Well this is some way to say hello," he muttered, breathless.

"Isn't it just." She kissed him again, letting the moment extend, then pulled away with a smile and straightened her dress. Martin coughed, searched for something to say, failed, and laughed at his own awkwardness.

"Right. Ok." He took a deep breath, held out the flowers, now slightly crushed. "These are for you."

"Thanks." She took them and headed into the kitchen.

"You seem…happy," he said from behind her.

She turned around with a big grin. "Oh, you don't _understand_, Martin! Everything is back – back to how it should be!"

"I…don't understand, you're right. But it's good to see you smile."

"Thank you. And sorry. Just the thought, that I might never see you again…" She shook her head. "And here you are."

Martin clenched and unclenched his left hand. "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"What happened yesterday?"

He managed a small smile. "Thanks."

It took Elisse a moment to figure it out. But of course – he'd taken her question as a token of forgiveness, that she'd let go whatever it was as though it was forgotten. When he didn't know was that the question had been genuine – for her yesterday literally hadn't happened. Then another thought occurred to her. Why, if anything, was _he_ apologizing? Surely Marth messing up was far more likely, indeed practically a given. What had _Martin_ done? She really did need to phone Marth. But just then Aaron started crying again. With an apologetic glance she left Martin and retrieved Aaron, cradling him in her arms before rejoining Martin in the lounge. He sat on the sofa, smiling at the sight of them both. She sat down beside him.

"Just thought I'd pop in and say hi," he ventured.

"With flowers? And there was me thinking you wanted a favour." She grinned.

"Ah, well, there are some weeds coming up in my lawn if you insist…"

"I'll pass. You can do it yourself. Or maybe you've already made a start – were they the flowers?" she teased.

"Indeed, please don't mistake me for a romantic. I was just pulling them up and I thought, hmm, who can I dump these on?" he replied sarcastically.

"Bit long distance just to go for a bin."

"I figured I might get a hot drink and half an hour's entertainment out of it."

"I suppose that's more than you get for most weeds. But I've discovered you now; you won't get away with it."

"Oh no!" he cried melodramatically.

She laughed. "Yes, your punishment begins now. Hold the baby."

"Is that it?"

"Well, the floors do need cleaning–"

"Pass him."

She slipped Aaron gently into his arms and then sat back to observe them both. Martin's expression was carefully neutral, she could almost see his thoughts turning as he looked at Aaron. Aaron was thankfully quiet, gurgling a little and looking up at him with big blue eyes. He'd inherited her eyes. But there was still something similar between them, maybe the line of the nose, or the depth of the eyebrows. Perhaps Martin saw it too, perhaps he didn't. His expression remained blank. After a little while he look up at Elisse, his face seeming strangely younger in the morning light, open, waiting for her evaluation. And suddenly the resemblance between them was ridiculously clear, uncannily so. It was father and son – anyone could have said so. But then she blinked, and it was just Martin again, waiting for her to say something.

"He's not crying. I suppose that's a g–" She cut herself off, realising any comment she could make about him being a potentially good father would always come out wrong and awkward under the circumstances.

"No… He isn't." It seemed that he wanted to pass Aaron back to her, but didn't know how to ask, didn't want to seem rude. She understood what he couldn't say and lifted Aaron back into her own arms. Looking at Martin she wondered if he felt as she often did when she put Aaron down – the slight warmth on the inside of the arms where the baby had been nestling, the absence around the chest, a sudden, small sense of exposure.

"Elisse, I…" he began.

Suddenly a flashback hit her like a solid thump in the chest. She remembered standing, feeling her legs make the extra effort against gravity. Her abdomen, swollen in front of her, providing warmth and nutrients for the new life growing there. _No,_ she had said. _It's okay, I won't make you look after him. I'll take responsibility. I never meant to drag you into this._ She'd interrupted him. She hadn't let him finish his sentence and forever she would remember his expression – confusion, relief, regret. But Aaron had taught her patience; this time she would listen.

Martin leant forwards, took her hands in his own. She looked at him, read his emotion in his eyes. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to, how to phrase it. Didn't have time enough in the world to even consider all the different angles. Knew that he simply had to say it, or he would never speak at all.

"I want to be a father to Aaron."

She saw the fear there, the tension she had sensed before. Automatically she wanted to say that he didn't have to, reassure him, take the nervousness away. She wanted to play on the small doubt there, pull away. But she realised she would only be doing it out of her own anxiety, retreating to what she knew and felt safe with; herself, her independent life, coping alone. Martin's grip tightened on her hands.

"I want to do this."

She looked down, unable to meet his gaze, but her eyes fell on Aaron's, and she knew there was only ever going to be one answer.

"Ok."

"Thank you."

"Are you–"

"I'm sure."

The future suddenly seemed to open up in front of her like a gulf. Panic momentarily seized her. "Oh god, leave me!"

"Never."

"I'm scared."

"I love you."

Their eyes met. Martin moved closer and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her softly on the lips. "I'm not going anywhere."

Between them, the baby giggled. Elisse smiled, then coughed.

"Oh god, that smells…"

"You'd better–"

"I think he just…" They both stood in unison. Elisse quickly passed Aaron to Martin, Martin passed him back again. Elisse passed him back yet again.

"Pass the parcel," Martin joked.

"The unwrapping's all yours."

"Ughh…"

"I'll re-wrap."

"Fine."

"You've got to learn sometime."

"Yes, I know."

"Take him up to the nursery," she commanded.

"This feels like a military exercise."

"I do like a man in uniform."

He began to head for the stairs. Elisse began to follow him when the phone rang. She turned around and began to head for it.

"Oi! Where are you going?"

"To answer the phone!"

"You can't leave me with this!"

"I trust you," she grinned.

"I need help!"

"You need experience."

"Helpful experience!"

"I'll see you up there in a bit, just let me take this call."

This seemed to placate him a bit. With a smile she reached for the phone.

* * *

Marth felt himself rising up from a dream and fought to return to it. He didn't want to wake up, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Something had been wrong. But not bad… yet he had a feeling that he wanted to avoid it, whatever it was. He rolled over, snug inside the duvet. Surely he didn't have to wake up just yet. He found himself thinking of Ike and worrying. But why was he worrying about Ike? Was he ill? He searched his groggy, unwilling mind for answers, yet somehow sensing he didn't want them. He felt like… he missed Ike. But Ike was… Why hadn't he – oh. He'd been Elisse.

He hadn't wanted to remember that.

Must he wake up now?

Oh please no… He could feel himself floating towards consciousness. There was sunshine on his face, a nice sensation. But he didn't want to wake up fully, couldn't bear to know… At the same time the curiosity was eating him – he was terrified, but to lie in this suspended state of ignorance was becoming unbearable. Ok. 1…2…3…

He opened his eyes.

He was in a hotel room.

"Oh god! I'm back!" He sat up and looked across the bed, his heart racing. And there was Ike, sleeping peacefully. He was back – he was actually back!

"Ike…"

He threw back the duvet and moved over Ike, kissing his shoulder, his neck, his face. Then he removed his top and pulled himself against Ike more insistently, kissing his lips, enjoying the taste of him. He was running a hand up Ike's thigh when suddenly he found himself pinned down on the bed, Ike straddling him from above, breathing heavily.

"That is… not the way… to wake me up." Ike gave a low groan, leaning against Marth slowly, his chest rising and falling unevenly. Marth kissed his neck and ran his fingers through Ike's hair, longing for his touch. Ike stroked Marth's cheek with one hand, forcing himself fully awake. Then he reached for Marth more passionately, their lips meeting again as his hands appreciated Marth's unusual toplessness. Marth rejoiced in the contact and he clamped his legs around Ike's waist, making sure their lips were never too far apart.

"I've missed you."

Ike gasped as Marth touched him again and gave a choked laugh as he replied, "Shit, Marth. I haven't been anywhere."

Marth moaned, his hands unrelenting.

"You weren't…like this…yesterday."

Marth had to bite Ike's lip to stop himself from laughing. It was so good to be back. He felt ecstatic.

"I know." His excitement spoke for itself as Ike removed what clothes they had left.

"Marth…"

"I love you." And with that he urged Ike closer still. And they stopped talking.

At some point later they lay side by side, exhausted though it was still only morning. Marth stared up at the ceiling, unable to keep the smile from his face. Ike, looking at him, smiled in kind.

"So what was that for?"

Marth blushed. "I just…wanted to."

"I gathered that much."

Marth rolled over and rested his head on Ike's chest. "I'm just…so glad to be here."

Ike stroked his hair affectionately. "That's good to know."

Marth sighed. He really ought to call Elisse and find out what had happened yesterday, but he was so comfortable at the moment. It could wait, couldn't it? After all, Elisse was probably enjoying being back herself, if it really was a true switch. He could barely believe it had happened, but the memories felt real. He had met Roy and talked to him, he had held Aaron, he had gone out with Martin… It had to have happened; he couldn't deny his own senses.

"Well, was there anywhere you wanted to go today?" Ike prompted.

"I think I could lie here forever."

"Bit hard for the rest of the day to live up to a start like that."

Marth smiled.

"You didn't even say good morning."

"Oh. Good morning." Marth rolled over luxuriously to lie fully on top of Ike before stretching up and kissing his cheek. "Breakfast?"

"Yes please."

"I'm not making it. I _always_ make it."

"I made it yesterday."

"You…"

"Breakfast in bed, don't pretend you've forgotten."

_The one time! And Elisse gets it!_

"Alright, don't frown. What would you like?"

"Oh. Just toast."

"Alright." Ike stood up and left the bedroom. Marth sat for a while, looking around the room. He hadn't realised just how much he enjoyed his life. Not because it was better than Elisse's in anyway, but just because it was _his_. Everything he'd done in his life had led up to this, a sequence of events only he had gone through, something that only now could he really appreciate. This life was his, and he wouldn't have it any other way. He was happy.

At length he got out of bed and got dressed. He had to call Elisse, find out what had happened yesterday. He dialled quickly and willed her to pick up.

"Come on, come on…" She was taking her time to answer.

Then, "Marth? Is that you? We have to talk."

"I know."

"You are back, then?"

"Yes, and you?"

"Yes, thank goodness for that."

"What happened yesterday?"

"We went to the mainland and looked around some shops. I had some strong coffee. I hired a motorbike and we went for a drive–"

"Elisse! I can't ride a motorbike!"

"I know, I'm sorry. You'll have to think of an excuse never to do it again, unless you learn yourself."

"When did you learn?"

"Martin taught me."

"That would explain it."

"Explain what?"

"Finish your day first."

"Fine. We ended up at this beach by some woodland, tried to light a fire and failed, and appreciated the sunset. Then we went back to the hotel. Oh, and I may have criticized him painting a bit."

"Why?"

"I think there are some things you shouldn't paint."

"Like what?"

"Special moments."

"Right."

"What did _you_ do?"

"Well I went shopping."

"I noticed. Like the green dress, by the way."

"You have a terrible wardrobe."

"_Thanks_."

"And I met Roy."

"Oh no! Oh my gosh, was it – how was it?"

"It was ok. He worked in one of the shops I went browsing in, turns out. We didn't really say anything."

"Ok. But you're okay?"

"Yeah. It… I coped, it's fine."

There was a short pause. "What else happened?"

"I met up with Martin and we went to a café and I accidentally drank something rather alco–"

"_Marth!_ You got me _drunk?_"

"I only took a sip I hadn't realised what I'd ordered. I didn't get drunk. Then he took me on a motorbike ride."

"Damn, I missed a ride!"

"It was terrifying!"

Elisse laughed. "And?"

"He drove me back to his place and we made bread, watched a film whilst it cooked, then ate it in the tree house. He has a tree house in the garden out back."

"Right." Elisse paused. "Did he… I mean, we are close… did he make an advance on you?"

Marth hesitated.

"Marth?"

Marth took a deep breath. "I kissed him."

"You _what?_"

"It was in the tree house – I didn't want to ruin your relationship with–"

"He's my boyfriend!"

Marth stalled, then the same thought reconfigured itself in his mind. "What about you? Did you and Ike…?" Ike would have probably…They were boyfriends after all, it would be weird if Ike had made an advance and Elisse hadn't reciprocated, but that wouldn't stop him feeling angry if Elisse said…

"Well…I kissed him."

"You _what?_"

"It was on the beach, he just turned towards me and I thought it would be wrong if I hadn't–"

"He's my boyfriend!"

"You did it to _my_ boyfriend! I can't believe you–"

"Kissed him–"

"In my body!"

Then in unison: "I feel so violated."


End file.
